A Pawn's Passage

Over the next few days, Qi Xuansu needed to seriously consider whether to take Sage Donghua as his master.

Such a major matter was actually similar to a marriage. Ideally, it should involve a formal ceremony, with many people present as witnesses. Considering the special statuses of Sage Donghua and Qi Xuansu, if it were truly conducted on a grand scale, more than half of the Daoist Order’s upper leadership would attend the ceremony.

This was both good and bad. Qi Xuansu’s concerns were about his past feelings for his master, morality, and potential damage to his reputation.

Sage Donghua also had his own concerns. This would mean a full confrontation with the Earthly Preceptor. Although it was still unclear what role the Earthly Preceptor had played in the matter or what relationship he had with Qi Haoran, one thing was undeniable—the Earthly Preceptor was certainly connected to it.

For the moment, Sage Donghua did not wish to force such an open confrontation. With powerful enemies outside, he did not have absolute confidence in defeating Sage Qingwei.

Thus, Sage Donghua and Qi Xuansu reached a consensus that the apprenticeship could be postponed for now. At the very least, they could wait until Beichen Hall issued a formal investigative report and officially identified Qi Haoran before proceeding with the apprenticeship.

However, it would also be inappropriate to wait until Qi Xuansu returned from the New Continent. If Qi Xuansu achieved great merit, only for Sage Donghua to accept him as a disciple then, the optics would look rather ugly.

Though they should not rush the matter, they could not delay it for too long either. Striking the right balance required considerable finesse and judgment.

In the end, Sage Donghua decided to temporarily set the matter aside.

If Qi Xuansu went to the New Continent, it would not be a short assignment. This was the fundamental reason Sage Qingwei did not want to go himself. With the grand election only a few years away, leaving the center of power for too long would practically guarantee his defeat to Sage Donghua.

However, Qi Xuansu was different. He belonged to the next generation and still had at least 30 years ahead of him. Thus, leaving the center of power now was no major issue. Rather, it was the perfect opportunity to gain experience abroad, strengthen his résumé, and build up his strength.

Of course, Qi Xuansu would inevitably return to Jade Capital briefly to report on his duties. It would not be too late to hold the formal ceremony during such an interval.

As for his marriage, it would have to wait until Qi Xuansu returned from the New Continent, as he wanted to accomplish something significant before getting married.

After settling these matters, Qi Xuansu prepared to return to the Poluo Daoist Mansion. On one hand, the appointment process for the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master would still take some time. On the other hand, he would have to make proper arrangements for handover before leaving the Poluo Daoist Mansion.

In particular, he had to carefully choose his successor for the position of Chief Deputy Mansion Master. Regarding this appointment, Great Sage Lan, Mansion Master Yao Shu, Qi Xuansu, and the Ziwei Hall had the right to make recommendations. If Great Sage Lan and the Ziwei Hall both sided with Qi Xuansu, then the candidate would most likely be arranged according to Qi Xuansu’s wishes.

In fact, the Ziwei Hall also held a certain degree of advisory power in the appointment of the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master. Though the Ziwei Hall could not guarantee that Qi Xuansu would be appointed to the position, it could very likely ensure that he would not be appointed to the position should he wish not to. That was why Sage Qingwei had to ask Qi Xuansu for his and Sage Donghua’s opinion.

Qi Xuansu had already considered a candidate to be his successor. Even if he did not go to Beichen Hall as Chief Deputy Hall Master, he would likely have moved to one of the Nine Halls. The most suitable candidate seemed to be Xu Jiaorong, but Xu Jiaorong had been promoted to Sage rather late, leaving her somewhat lacking in seniority. Moreover, if Xu Jiaorong moved up, the position of Second Deputy would become vacant and would still need to be filled.

After much deliberation, Qi Xuansu thought of a suitable candidate—Zhang Yuelu. Qi Xuansu was the youngest formally ranked second-rank Taiyi Daoist, while Zhang Yuelu was the youngest second-rank Taiyi Daoist by position. She had served nearly 3 years as Second Deputy. Now that Li Changge and Yao Pei had both advanced to Second Deputy within their respective Daoist Mansions, Zhang Yuelu should also move up. After all, she was more than qualified to be promoted.

Rather than serving as Chief Deputy Hall Master in one of the six halls, it would be better for Zhang Yuelu to become Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion, since Sage Donghua and the Heavenly Preceptor had already formed an alliance. Qi Xuansu figured that Zhang Yuelu would likely become the next Grand Master candidate jointly supported by the two sides. As such, accumulating more regional experience would do no harm.

Such arrangements were quite common within the Daoist Order. For example, the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion was filled almost entirely with members of the Zhang family. Likewise, the Qizhou Daoist Mansion was dominated by the Li family, and the Yao family held an overwhelming majority in the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion.

Compared with those examples, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were not even in the same Daoist Mansion. Together they amounted to only two people, with no children or siblings. If they were establishing a family domain, the other likely candidate they could pass it down to was Little Yin, who would probably complain about having to take up responsibility.

Strictly speaking, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu had not yet formally become Daoist companions, so they were considered friends and former colleagues, not yet family.

Whether Qi Xuansu or Zhang Yuelu eventually became Grand Master, both would need a solid foundation of power. Such foundations could not be built merely by proclaiming justice, reason, or morality. They had to be cultivated slowly over time. At this stage, when the goal was the Grand Master’s seat, it was somewhat unrealistic to remain completely spotless.

Qi Xuansu’s thinking was not complicated. He intended to treat Poluo as his own political base. He feared that once he left, his influence would fade, so he needed to manage it carefully. However, he felt uneasy entrusting it entirely to others.

With Zhang Yuelu and Xu Jiaorong holding ground and Great Sage Lan above them, the overall structure of the Poluo Daoist Mansion would not change significantly.

Qi Xuansu had to seek Zhang Yuelu’s opinion regarding this matter. By the same logic, if Zhang Yuelu did not wish to go, there was nothing Qi Xuansu could do.

After Qi Xuansu explained his idea to Zhang Yuelu, she did not object.

Zhang Yuelu already had a foundation there. During a critical time when Qi Xuansu could not attend personally, it was Zhang Yuelu who had overseen the situation in his stead in Lion City. Nominally, she was only offering advice, but in reality, she had been the one making decisions. She had even participated in the restructuring of the Nanyang United Trading Company and contributed her opinions.

Xie Jiaofeng probably never imagined that Chief Deputy Zhang might soon become his superior.

If Zhang Yuelu succeeded to the position of Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion, she would feel no pressure at all. She was already familiar with the work and equally familiar with the personnel. Xu Jiaorong, Xie Jiaofeng, Pei Xiaolou, Sun Yongfeng, and Ji Jiaozhen were all long-time acquaintances of Qi Xuansu as well as Zhang Yuelu. Their social networks overlapped greatly. Thus, when convening the Daoist Mansion Council, Zhang Yuelu would be capable of standing on equal footing with Yao Shu.

The only concern was that Zhang Yuelu’s career path would most likely be slightly different from Qi Xuansu’s. She would become a Chief Deputy Mansion Master and then a Palace Master before becoming a Mansion Master, rather than going directly from a Chief Deputy Hall Master to a Mansion Master.

If one advanced directly from Chief Deputy Hall Master to Mansion Master, apart from the Chief Deputy Hall Masters of the Three Great Halls, most would not directly become the Mansion Master of a major Daoist Mansion, but rather of smaller ones. Even if a Chief Deputy Hall Master of the Three Great Halls became the Mansion Master of a major Daoist Mansion, there would usually be a Great Sage above them restraining their authority, preventing them from fully ruling on their own, just as in Yao Shu’s case.

By contrast, advancing from Palace Master to Mansion Master would almost certainly lead directly to one of the major Daoist Mansions, positions that could truly call the shots. Zhang Jucheng was an example of this. The Jiangnan Daoist Mansion was one of the wealthiest financial powerhouses among all Daoist Mansions, ranking near the very top.

The Mansion Master of major Daoist Mansions also found it easier to advance to Hall Master, even leaping directly into the Three Great Halls.

This matter did not concern Zhang Yuelu alone, since pulling one thread could move the entire organization. Thus, although Zhang Yuelu did not object, she did not immediately agree simply because of her close relationship with Qi Xuansu. Instead, she first communicated with the Heavenly Preceptor and Sage Cihang and only agreed after obtaining their approval.

With the support of the Heavenly Preceptor, Sage Donghua, and Sage Cihang, as well as the recommendation of Qi Xuansu and Great Sage Lan, Zhang Yuelu was practically assured the position due to her strong qualifications.

Thus, two parallel tracks were set in motion. Qi Xuansu would become Chief Deputy of the Beichen Hall, while Zhang Yuelu would succeed him as Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion in a seamless transition.

Under these circumstances, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu set out on their return journey.

Since Qi Xuansu had flown here on his own, he could only hitch a ride on Zhang Yuelu’s flying ship.

Qi Xuansu had originally planned to stop by the Dazhen Mansion along the way, but upon learning that the Heavenly Preceptor had not yet returned, he had to abandon the idea. After all, it had not been that long. In total, it had been only 6 days since he went to the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion to see Zhang Jucheng.

By this time Lin Yuanmiao had already returned to the Lingnan Daoist Mansion with Little Yin, so the two of them came to welcome Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Remembering how his lack of explanation last time had led Little Yin to meddle with the Guizang Lantern, Qi Xuansu decided to reveal a little more this time. “Little Yin, I’ve got good news for you. We’re moving.”

Little Yin’s eyes lit up immediately. “Where to? I’ve long been bored of this place!”

Qi Xuansu said, “We’re moving from the Dongdu Prefecture to Tianfu Palace in Lion City.”

“Eh?” Little Yin’s mouth fell open, thinking she must have misheard.

Qi Xuansu repeated, “We’ll be moving to Tianfu Palace from now on. Second Deputy Zhang is going there to take up her post.”

Only then did Little Yin realize the terrifying truth. She would go from shuttling back and forth between two places to living in Lion City long-term. That was even worse than the current arrangement. How was this supposed to be good news?!

However, whether the news was good or bad did not depend on Little Yin’s opinion. Qi Xuansu said it was good news, and Zhang Yuelu agreed. Therefore, it was good news. There was no room for a kid like her to voice her opinion.

Little Yin pouted and imitated a line from the books she had read. “Farewell, my beloved Dongdu Prefecture.”

Qi Xuansu gave her a light smack. “We haven’t even settled the account for what you did at Tongzhen Palace.”

“What did she do this time?” Zhang Yuelu asked.

Little Yin immediately sensed trouble and hurriedly said, “Nothing! Nothing at all...”

At the same time, she kept giving Qi Xuansu frantic looks, trying to signal him to stay quiet.

Pretending not to notice, Qi Xuansu reported, “This girl snuck into the alchemy chamber where I was meditating in seclusion and started messing around with the Guizang Lantern. When I found her, she was hugging the lantern and sleeping soundly.”

“Is that so?” Zhang Yuelu immediately looked at Little Yin, her eyes narrowing. “What do I usually tell you?”

Little Yin hid behind Lin Yuanmiao, not daring to face Zhang Yuelu directly.

Lin Yuanmiao grabbed Little Yin with one hand and pulled her out, saying expressionlessly, “The day has finally come for you to get punished.”